Female identifying and supporting persons will protest and strike in solidarity with Women & Allies on December 12th, in cities across the United States, against the normalization of the misogyny, racism, bigotry, and hate promoted under the representation of Donald Trump. We will stand in support of the petition signed by more 4.8 million people, appealing to the members of the electoral collegeto declare Trump unfit for the presidency with a vote against him on December 19th and in favor of the majority winner of the presidential election, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Psst! I made this: Not-Up-For-Grabs.org is a female formed and guided source promoting education and activism through the sharing of existing resources as they emerge in the specific wake of the 2016 presidential election. We share news, calls to action, events, human/environmental rights supporting organizations, relevant art, etc. which support and encourage peaceful resistance and work against the normalization of hateful, discriminating persons and actions. We are ALL rights oriented: Women's Rights Are Human Rights, Love is Love, Black Lives Matter, Science is Real, No Human is Illegal, Stronger Together, and all the kind, loving, and inclusive rest.

This Saturday, November 19th from 1-3 pm female identifying and supporting persons are will gather at 800 SW Market St. (PSU Park Blocks, on the streetcar stop) for a walk to Pioneer Square and back, to hold space and each other in peaceful protest against the misogyny, racism, bigotry, immorality, and abuse that have been granted permission under the leadership of Donald Trump.

The election of Donald Trump-including his own words and actions-are psychologically and physically damaging our country by enabling violence against historically marginalized groups of people. The Klu Klux Klan is publicly celebrating in Trump’s name, the Southern Poverty Law Center has registered over four hundred hate crimes in the week since election day, and known sexists and racists are being nominated for positions of great power in the government. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump (who is expected to lose the popular vote by more than two million by the time the votes are all counted) continues to tweet narcissistic, impulsive rants instead of making any effort to unite the country by insisting that people embody respect for the law and the dignity of human beings independent of origin, skin color, religion, gender, ability, sexual orientation, or political views.

Michelle Fredette and Steve Denniston host the Plonk reading series, the first Wednesday of each month, at the delightfully cozy, Corkscrew Wine Bar. I am a Plonk lover and, by luck, I've been invited to read my story published in the latest issue of VoiceCatcher. This saves me a lot of plotting and begging. Bios for the stellar reader line-up are right here. Come on out!

Today the Listen To Your Mother show releases 500 unique, personal perspectives of the human experience viewed through the lens of motherhood. With tremendous thanks to our production team for their diligent processing, we are pleased to announce the videos from our 2016 LTYM show season are now ready for the eyes of the Internet. You'll find our 3rd annual Portland show, right...about...here.

A few tips for first time viewers: the stories of each show were thoughtfully assembled in a particular order, so if you're looking for something akin to the live show experience, go in for an entire city's playlist and watch in order from start to finish.

Listen To Your Mother takes audiences on a well-crafted journey that celebrates and validates mothering through giving voice to motherhood–in all of its complexity, diversity, and humor–in the form of original readings performed live on-stage by their authors.

An evening of storytelling by local writers Sage Cohen, Susan Domagalski Fleming, Christi Krug, Gypsy Martin, and Carisa Miller, highlighting the fumbling, bumbling, panic-induced sweating, excruciatingly awkward way we trip over ourselves on our way to making sense of life.

Artist, Erin Leichty, has invited us to bring our personal embarrassments and insights to her latest show at Waterstone Gallery, "Confluence: Where Our Stories Run Together." We chose our theme as a complement to her show’s title, being under the impression that the occasional graceless misnavigation of circumstances is something universally human and that those who cannot relate are either flawlessly programmed robots, or Audrey Hepburn.

Please join us for a night of artful/awkward/elegant/human expression. We've created a Facebook event, if you're up for letting us know you plan to attend.

About the artist and writers...

Erin Leichty is a native Oregonian, full time artist, mom and dreamer. She is passionate about creating delicious foods, loving and caring for family and friends, designing beautiful and functional homes, running in the forest, and always seeking to find peace, beauty and inspiration in the chaos of everyday life. She paints in her large garage studio, playing with paint and plaster, hot and cold waxes, blue tape, propane torches, palate knives and an endless supply of letters and words. Her work explores the idea that we are all made up of the stories that were handed down to us from generations before, and ones that were written for us from the day we were born. Each panel she creates is a cathartic memoir designed to inspire the viewer to bring their own stories to light.

Sage Cohen writes books and poems, essays and love letters, strategic marketing campaigns and thank-you notes. She is the a author of The Productive Writer, Writing the Life Poetic, and Fierce on the Page (forthcoming) all from Writer’s Digest Books, and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World from Queen of Wands Press. Her articles about the writing life have been featured in multiple editions of Poet’s Market, Writer’s Market, and Writer's Digest magazine. Sage believes that we are shaped not by the experiences we have but by the stories we tell about those experiences. She offers strategies and support for writers at pathofpossibility.com and for parents navigating divorce at radicaldivorce.com.

Susan Domagalski Fleming is a Portland writer, screenwriter, blogger, and local producer of the Listen To Your Mother show. She has worked in marketing communications for several nonprofits and has been published in The Oregonian, Fireweed, Pearl, and Voicecatcher. She and five other women co-authored the play Just Like You, produced by Well Arts Institute and performed at the Firehouse Theatre in 2014, and her screenplay “Six Months of Wonder Woman” won the 2015 BlueCat Screenplay Competition for short features.

Christi Krug is a soul lamplighter, word maven, and writing coach. Her bionic listening skills were developed in a lab with two daughters and two stepsons. Her poetry, short stories, and essays have appeared in everything from kindergarten classrooms to horror anthologies. She paints, keeps journals, and empowers creatives through her classes, blogs, coaching program, and her book, Burn Wild: A Writer’s Guide to Creative Breakthrough

Gypsy Martin is mom to two boys in Camas, Washington, and has achieved minor fame as a lunch lady at their elementary school. Her work has been published online at Journal of Microliterature and VoiceCatcher Journal, and has made its way into print in Madroad: the Breadline Press West Coast Anthology. Her short short fiction will appear in the forthcoming Flash in the Attic: Volume II Anthology from Fiction Attic Press. She also received a prize in the 2012 Writer's Digest Writing Competition for her memoir piece about the indignities of homemade underwear. Gypsy writes about her adventures in the kitchen and on the home front at her blog, Martin Eke.

As seen adjusting her undergarments in public, writer, humorist, nut-job, and Listen To Your Mother: Portland director Carisa Miller, lives in SW Portland with her exceptionally patient husband, two fireball daughters, an ill-tempered cat, a dog she’s allergic to, and horrendous PMS. Her published essays, one-liners, blog, and social media gobbledygook can be found at-hey wait a second-this is my website you're on.

The Unchaste Readers Series is the celebrated, monthly, hardcore, hard-truthed, pro-love show produced by fierce writer woman, Jenny Forrester. "Unchaste is about creating a community, promoting writing that takes risks, that shows the raw, vulnerable, ecstatic, complicated lives of women."

I become an Unchaste Reader in September, when I let The Voice of PMS have a turn at the mic. Come and listen to these incredible women spill their lives.

Floors upon floors upon buildings of set workshops, props and costume departments. All the millions of details that must line up and fade into the background of an historically authentic representation in storytelling. From underwear to home decor.